PART F O U R THE DRAGON OF TO-GAI

When first I encountered Agradeleous in his cavern lair, I recognized, or thought I had, the power of the beast. The mere sight of the dragon froze me in my tracks, for a moment at least. I have seen volcanoes and mighty rivers, wild hailstorms on the open steppes, and heard - felt! - the thunder of a buffalo herd charging through the grasses. In all these things I am reminded of the sheer power of the world around us, dwarfing us in our hopes and dreams.

So it is with Agradeleous. He is a volcano, a flood, an earthquake, a catastrophe of the highest order, and unbelievably, his power has been given to me! Thatjuraviel even managed to make such a friend boggles my sensibilities.

With Agradeleous has come hope, so say the elves. Upon his back, I can fly the length of the steppes in but a day or two, gathering my armies, inspiring them with the knowledge that they will travel into combat against the hated Behrenese behind the power of a dragon. Is any outposter settlement too great a fortress for us now?

Is Dharyan? Isjacintha itself?

But there is another side to the lucky coin that is Agradeleous the dragon. Is his a power truly leashed, truly under my control?

I have sought out my answers in Oracle, but have found nothing more than the reminder of my murdered parents. I feel their anger keenly, more at the loss of our old ways than at the particular injustices they suffered. At Oracle, I am convinced more than ever that the ancient traditions of the To-gai-ru must be returned to the steppes, that we cannot tolerate our subjugation to the Chezru Chieftain and his Yatols.

Still, I cannot dismiss this power I have been given, this awesome and awful responsibility.

Agradeleous will heed to my commands, so said Belli'mar Juraviel. But in those terrible minutes after the ranks of Behrenese had broken, when the dragon went in pursuit with the three of us riding, I understood that Agradeleous truly follows only the commands of Agradeleous. How he blasted through the ranks of the fleeing Behrenese, with his fiery breath and his raking claws, his snapping maw and that crushing tail!

I fear what I might see if ever I allow Agradeleous to run loose against a Behrenese city. Will the dragon distinguish between soldier and civilian? Between man and child?

And so I have been given a choice, and it is one that surely tugs at my heart. With Agradeleous, I can take great strides toward my long-desired goal, flying high across the To-gai sky atop the great beast, I can give my people a rallying point, using my own reputation as the "Dra&on ofTo-gai" to give them hope and a focus. Who would not stand behind me?

And then I can watch the death and the misery of Agradeleous nleashed. I can turn my head and block my ears, but not my heart, to the screams of the innocents as the dragon fire immolates them. I can jatch the outposter settlements burn, perhaps even the great cities of Astern Behren, burn.

Agradeleous is not invulnerable, by the words ofjuraviel. An army prepared for the dragon might bring it down.

There is within me a small part that might hope for such a thing, after the To-gai-ru have rallied, after enough victories are secured so that the Behrenese will not return to our land. For what might Agradeleous do after the fighting is ended? When and ifTo-gai is free, what am I then to do with the dragon.

For his is a power, I fear, that, once unleashed, cannot be put back in its hole. It is possible that I will lead an army against Agradeleous if I somehow achieve victory over Behren, and that is not a prospect that I enjoy entertaining.

Like the Touel'alfar as a whole, Belli'mar ]uraviel has brought me hope, but that hope lies along a path made even darker by the prospects of this new and magnificent weapon. Many times during our journey south did Belli'mar Juraviel warn me that to pursue my victory would mean steeling myself to the horrors of war.

Agradeleous merely accentuates that point.

I pray for strength.

Chapter 25 The Walkaway

Baliit Timig sat in a darkened room, alone with his thoughts, his guilt, as he had been for most days since the return of the few Chezhou-Lei who had survived the disaster at the Mountains of Fire, and the few dozen Jacintha soldiers who had escaped and who had lot subsequently deserted in the wild southland.

All had spoken of a sudden turn in the battle, of the arrival of a dragon, ridden by a warrior woman wielding a flaming sword!

A dragon! Whoever had heard of such a thing? Certainly there were tales of such creatures, the great wurms of legend, but never had any dragon been known actually to take a side in a conflict!

It was all too much for Kaliit Timig to comprehend, or to accept. He was convinced that the beast had been a manifestation of Jhesta Tu magic; the mystics were known for such powers, though never as dramatically as this. The returning Chezhou-Lei had reported that none of the mystic line that had stood against them had shown any indications of any magic use, nor any gemstones, though the hated Jhesta Tu were known to possess a few of those, as well.

Perhaps their greatest wizards had remained high above the conflict, Kaliit Timig reasoned, combining their powers to create the beast, or the il-lusion of the beast.

Whatever the case, the disaster could not be denied. His vaunted order had been cut in half in one day, with scores of superbly trained warriors, the best in all of Behren, perhaps in all the world, cut down in that barren wasteland. That was his burden, and many times, the old Chezhou-Lei Kaliit had thought it more than he could possibly shoulder. How badly had he erred, how great a failure was his reign as the Kaliit of the elite and an-cient order.

He heard the shake of the door chimes outside his chamber, but didn't let it take him from his profound contemplations. He heard the door open, but wouldn't open his eyes and thus, did not see the light filtering into the darkened room.

"Kaliit Timig," came a call, a voice that he could not ignore, no matter how great his desire to be alone. He slowly opened his eyes and turned his head, to see the silhouette of a familiar figure standing in the doorway.

"God-Voice," he welcomed.

"How many more weeks will you spend in here, Kaliit?" Chezru Chief-tain Douan asked bluntly. ?Hiding away while your order tries to find some way to recover from the catastrophe."

"This disaster is unprecedented," Timig answered softly. ?I know not where to turn my attention now. I meditate for guidance."

"You cower in the dark," Douan accused, and behind the Chezru Chief-tain there came a gasp, which Kaliit Timig knew to be the surprise of Mer-wan Ma, Douan's ever-present attendant, who had so conveniently turned away from the army before the disaster.

"I seek to guide my order properly, and nothing more," Timig answered with as much conviction as he could muster.

Chezru Douan laughed at him. ?You would have led all of your order to complete destruction if I had not intervened and forced you to hold some of your warriors back. Where would the Chezhou-Lei be now if all of you had gone marching to your destruction in that forsaken land of rock and fire? And for what, Kaliit Timig?

To avenge the death of a single Chezhou-Lei, killed in open and honest battle?"

The old Kaliit bowed his head again, having no resolve to fight back against the God-Voice. For indeed, the guilt was there, all about him, like the black wings of despair. There was no escape from it, not out there, try-ing to rebuild that which was lost, nor in here, hiding in the darkness from the truth.

"You know that many of the remaining Chezhou-Lei seek answers, of course," Chezru Douan remarked offhandedly. ?And many others vow re-venge and hope that you will send them all off on a journey to the Moun-tains of Fire."

That last bit brought Timig's head swinging up again to stare at Douan. Perhaps that was the course. To avenge the dead by eliminating the wretched Jhesta Tu altogether! ?If you would lend me your army, I could turn defeat into a great victory," he dared to say.

Again came that mocking laughter. ?Victory?" Douan asked incredu-lously. ?Victory over whom? The Jhesta Tu? But they are not enemies of mine, nor of Behren, unless they have begun a march of which I am not aware."

"A Jhesta Tu mystic fought at Dharyan, against Yatol Grysh," said Timig. ?And that same mystic was back at the Walk of Clouds, engaging in battle, according to those who have returned. Surely that - "Means nothing to me," Chezru Douan finished. ?The Jhesta Tu are better of in their mountain home, unbothered and unbothering. I'll not awaken " dragon, Kaliit Timig. That, I believe, is more your manner of leading." Timig squinted against the sting of those words.

"Perhaps I erred in sending my twenty-square behind your warriors," rhezru Douan admitted, but he retracted the words immediately, for it uld not do for one who spoke directly to Yatol to make such mistakes. ?But then again, had I not sent the soldiers, then none of your Chezhou-Lei would have escaped, and common soldiers are far more easily replaced than are your elite warriors.

"And so it sits fully with you, Kaliit Timig," Douan remarked. ?I allowed you your folly, though it was against that which I knew to be true, because of your insistence that honor be upheld, whatever the cost. What is the honorable course for you now, I wonder? You have failed in your capacity, of that there can be no doubt. Do you believe that you should continue to lead the remaining Chezhou-Lei? Or are you too much a coward to take the only honorable course before you?"

Again came that gasp from behind him, Merwan Ma apparently as stunned by the heartless words as was the Kaliit.

Chezru Douan merely chuckled again and exited, slowly closing the door behind him.

Kaliit Timig sat there for a long while, the God-Voice's words mingling with his own demons of guilt, all of it together taking his gaze inevitably toward the beautifully crafted curving sword that sat on a decorated stand at the side of the room.

Hardly even noticing the movement, the battered old man went to the sword and stared at it hard. Even in the dim light, its blade seemed to gleam with strength. Timig reached his hand up to feel the cool metal, wrapped a thousand times over itself. His was an ancient sword, passed down through the warrior generations, and so it had seen many, many battles, wearing away the top layers, making its edge even finer.

Kaliit Timig held the blade up before him horizontally, studying the intri-cate runes carved in the metal.

He looked back to the door once, considering the words of the God-Voice and knowing that they rang with truth.

Kaliit Timig walked back to the center of the room, placed the butt of his magnificent sword on the floor, then propped the razor-sharp tip against the hollow of his breast. He had failed; he could not deny it any longer, nor could he hope to redeem himself within the Chezhou-Lei order.

With a nod, the man let himself fall forward.

News of Kaliit Timig s death reached Chom Deiru the next day, and did not surprise the Chezru Chieftain in the least. In fact, Douan was quite pleased by the turn of events, for this suicide would allow him to continue to lay the blame in whole upon Timig's shoulders.

That was all that he truly cared about at that time. Since the disaster the Mountains of Fire, several of the Yatols overseeing the surrounding eas had been sending screaming emissaries to Jacintha, pleading for mo soldiers in case the dragon came after them, and many more had taken the cry of panic.

But to Douan the defeat was no tremendously important incident. He h H a line of couriers spread from the Mountains of Fire all the way to Jacintha and reports came in every few days. None of those, not one in the months since the disaster, spoke of any ominous activity in the land of the Jhesta Tu Certainly none had reported any dragons flying about!

The Jhesta Tu had thinned the Chezhou-Lei order considerably, and the loss of leaders to Douan s army was no small thing. But To-gai had been tamed again, it appeared, by Yatol Grysh's cunning feint to defeat the rogue Ashwarawu, and all seemed quiet in the northern kingdom, with no appre-ciable shifts in policy against Behren after the ascension of the new Father Abbot, Fio Bou-raiy.

Thus, Yakim Douan spent the summer, God's Year 842, in the kingdom of Honce-the-Bear, about the lands of Entel, traveling informally and in relative peace, even beginning to entertain again thoughts that his time of Transcendence was drawing near.

Brynn took a deep breath - several, in fact. There before her lay the first village she had entered on her return to To-gai, a place whose name, Telliqik, she had only recently heard. For the last few months, she and her four un-likely companions had traveled the length and breadth of the steppes, stop-ping at every village they could find, with Brynn then going in to spread the word about the Dragon of To-gai, about how she would lead the To-gai-ru to freedom, but only if they all joined in with her. Truly it pained the anx-ious woman to spend these days in relative peace and quiet. After the vic-tory at the Mountains of Fire, with the Chezhou-Lei shattered, it seemed as if Behren was ripe to be plucked.

Belli'mar Juravi el had counseled the woman for patience, though, had re-minded her that their enemy remained formidable. And though many vil-lagers had witnessed the great victory and the sheer power of the dragon, communication throughout the land would be slow and inexact, with the story likely changing from one town to another, even from one person to another. The companions would count on that inaccuracy to work in their favor as word spread back to Behren, but they knew that it could well be a liability if it was not parsed correctly on its path through To-gai.

And so they had flown out upon Agradeleous, and the dragon had even taken Runtly along, holding the pony in a harness the Jhesta Tu mystics had fashioned, journeying from town to town to begin the quiet resistance that would signal the start of Brynn's campaign against the Chezru Chieftain. called Autumnal Nomaduc, the Autumn Walkaway, and such an was not unprecedented in To-gai-ru history. Many times before, one tribe had conquered another, the survivors of the conquered Mould simply wander away from their conquerors, moving out into en steppes. Never before had it been tried across all of To-gai, but before had the conqueror been the Behrenese, and never before had 'rebellion leader been an elven-trained ranger, riding atop a dragon!

The ranger stooped over, as if weary and road-worn, and certainly less eatening, and hitched the cowl of her worn cloak up over her head. She irmured to herself in a gruff peasant accent as she approached the gate, peeked out under the cowl only once, to note the strange looks coming back at her from the guards.

"Oh, but me wagon is lost, and all me poor horses," she said, closing to stand right before the two Behrenese. ?You had a wagon?" one asked.

"A wagon, a husband, and a few friends, I had!" Brynn snapped at him, turning a wild eye his way and moving very close. She didn't really recog-nize the man, but feared that he might know her, for she had stood tall and distinct when last she was there, that year ago, when she had killed Yatol Daek and Dee'dahk.

"And you lost them?" the man asked with a smirk.

"Killed on the road!" Brynn screeched. ?By robbers... so many damned robbers! They took me wagon, and killed me friends. Get yer weapons, sol-diers! Protectors! Get yer weapons and go out and kill them to death!"

The man was patting the air to try to calm her, and was obviously trying to hold back a smile. Robbers were no major catastrophe in the unruly steppes, Brynn knew, except of course to those victimized. And she knew as well that these guards wouldn't be quick to send out any patrols, certainly not on the word and plea of a lowly To-gai-ru woman. ?Now tell me where this happened," the soldier bade her. 'Fifteen days o' walking,"

Brynn said, waggling a finger in his face. ?Fifteen days?"

"Fifteen!" Brynn cried. ?Now, ye get yer fellows and run south, and ye'll find them. Kill them to death."

Now the man did chuckle, as did his companion. ?We will speak with Yatol Tornuk about it." ?I'll be seeing him!"

No," the man cried back, and then he calmed, and tried again to calm her. No, good woman. We will speak with him. You just go in and find yourself a place to rest, and get some food."

orynn stared at him hard, wild-eyed even, but then she slipped past, en-tering the village.

ler relief was huge when she entered the common room to find the place bristling with To-gai-ru, several familiar faces - including two in particular among them. Brynn made her way to a corner table and slid into a chair b side Tsolona and Barachuk.

She looked up from under the cowl, smiling widely, then pulled the hooH back enough so that they could see her clearly.

"Ah, Brynn!" Tsolona said quietly, and she cupped the young woman' chin in her hands, then bent in and kissed her on the cheek. ?So much hav we worried for you."

"The Dragon of To-gai, returned for a visit," whispered Barachuk, lean-ing in across the table.

His reference to her in that manner nearly knocked Brynn right over How could he know?

"You have come to tell us of the nomaduc" the surprising Barachuk rea-soned. ?Ah, but it is already in place here in Telliqik. The word outdis-tances you, and many are eager to follow the way of resistance."

Brynn just sat there, shaking her head.

"Were you really astride a dragon?" Tsolona asked, after looking around to make sure that there were no Behrenese soldiers, or To-gai-ru infor-mants, nearby.

"It is a long story," Brynn replied.

"Then stay with us this evening and tell us your tale," said Barachuk. ?And we will tell your tales to our comrades out in the steppes, in whatever manner you wish them related."

Brynn smiled, knowing well that she had fine allies there. She nodded, and stood to leave, and the other two were right behind her as she exited the common room.

The three chatted until late into the night, with Brynn relating the tale of the battle at the Mountains of Fire honestly and openly. She was surprised to learn that the couple had already met one of her elvish companions. She bade the couple not to mention Juraviel or Cazzira, though, fearing that her story might overwhelm any would-be soldiers.

"You can have your old bed back," Tsolona said to her, the hour well past midnight.

Brynn considered the offer, remembering the fine times she had spent with these two, whom she regarded almost as surrogate parents. ?I must be out this very night," she answered. ?I have but three days to make the final preparations for the Autumnal Nomaduc. Everything will move quickly af-ter that."

"You will assemble your army?"

"As many as will join."

"And then strike at the Behrenese within To-gai?" Barachuk pressed. ?Like the new dog, Tornuk, who replaced the dog you killed?"

Brynn understood the man's eagerness, for the name alone marked the Yatol of Telliqik as To-gai-ru. To the proud To-gai-ru people, that be-I was even worse than the invasion of the Behrenese.

tf ?We will find our ways to gain our freedom, and will pay back those who brought so much grief to us," Brynn promised. She moved over and "ed Barachuk, then turned to Tsolona, wrapping her in a great hug for a [Ong, long time. And then she was back out into the dark To-gai night, with Juraviel, * zzira, Pagonel, and Agradeleous, laying the final plans for the Walkaway.

<- Three nights later, streaks of fire highlighted the To-gai sky, Brynn astride her dragon flying the length and breadth of the steppes, her fiery sword held high and the fire accentuated every so often by a tremendous gout of the dragon's fiery breath. She flew up very high so the spectacle could be seen from far, far away.

That night, taking the signal, tens of thousands of To-gai-ru slipped out of their respective settlements for the safety of the darkened steppes. There were skirmishes in some towns, where guards caught on to the escape, but in all but a few of the outposter settlements, where the To-gai-ru were out-numbered by the Behrenese many times over, the To-gai-ru got out, moving to appointed meeting places, where new tribes were formed.

Yakim Douan seemed as if he would simply explode. He sat in his chair, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles whitened at his sides, and he trembled so violently that his teeth were actually chattering.

Carwan Pestle, who had delivered the terrible news from Dharyan, looked to Merwan Ma with alarm, and the Chezru Chieftain's attendant motioned for the man to step back from the leader's chair.

"Not again," Yakim Douan growled, his jaw so tight that he hardly seemed able to get the words out of his mouth.

"Yatol Grysh begs your pardon, God-Voice," Carwan Pestle offered, bowing repeatedly. ?He wished not to trouble you with such unpleasant-ness as this, but he fears that we cannot ignore the desertion."

"All of them?" Douan asked.

"Yes, God-Voice," Pestle replied. ?All who were not captured trying to escape. We have soldiers scouring the steppes; the outposters are banding together for defense."

"And have you recaptured any of the missing To-gai-ru?"

Carwan Pestle seemed to deflate quite a bit. ?No, God-Voice," he admit-ted. ?The outposter militia fought one battle, but it was against this... this crazy woman, the Dragon of To-gai, and they were overwhelmed."

"Dragon?" asked Douan. ?What say your reports? Was there really such a beast as that fighting the outposters?"

"We have heard reports of a dragon flying across the night sky on the night of the great desertion, but no, there was no battle against any real dragon. Just against this demon woman and her followers, and their num-bers are growing rapidly. Yatol Grysh would not have intruded upon your precious time, God-Voice, but he fears that this foe is more dangerous bv far than was Ashwarawu."

Yakim Douan smiled at that remark, for he knew that it had been said for no better reason than to remind him of Grysh's great victory over the fool Ashwarawu at the gates of Dharyan. That was the last good news Douan had heard!

"Indeed he must believe it to be so, to send his closest advisor all the way here," the Chezru Chieftain remarked. ?And Yatol Grysh has indeed earned my trust and respect. You ask for two twenty-squares, and so you shall have them, and a third besides! And the mounts to support them, that they will sweep out with great and overpowering speed and strength!"

Carwan Pestle's eyes widened nearly as much as Merwan Ma's! Three twenty-squares, along with enough horses to support them as a cavalry unit? It was unheard of!

"But on the condition that you use them for more than the defense of Dharyan," Douan went on. ?I doubt this new leader will be fool enough to charge in to her death, as did Ashwarawu. I will give Yatol Grysh his soldiers - some of the best of the Jacintha garrison! - but he must promise to use them to march across the steppes, destroying all resistance, and pun-ishing the To-gai-ru so terribly that they will never again think to defy us!"

"Yes, God-Voice!"

"Do you understand?" Douan asked, coming out of his chair to stand right before the man. ?Do you truly? Tell your Yatol to exact a generational purge of the To-gai-ru. I will not have them as any threat during the time of Transcendence."

Carwan Pestle's face screwed up with confusion, as if he did not understand.

"A generational purge," Yakim Douan repeated. ?Eliminate their would-be warriors. All of them! I expect that I will not hear any further requests from Dharyan, but only the news that the To-gai-ru have been properly punished."

Carwan Pestle nodded and bowed, and followed Douan's motion that he should then leave the room.

"What troubles you?" Douan asked Merwan Ma after the emissary from Dharyan had gone, for it was obvious that the young Shepherd was not pleased.

"God-Voice, it is not my place to question - "But it is, because I just told you that it was," Douan told him. ?You are troubled by my command to Pestle?"

"A generational purge?"

Chezru Douan grinned wickedly. ?I grow weary of the stubborn To-gai-ru," he explained. ?I'll have no more trouble from them. They have upon themselves - let them suffer the consequences of their lence and disobedience! Twelve hundred soldiers, my friend, and each are will be led by a Chezhou-Lei... no, by two Chezhou-Lei. We will nuer To-gai all over again, and this time to even more devastating effect. I then I can go to my rest, Merwan Ma. My patience is at its end." Merwan Ma could hardly believe the coldness in Yakim Douan's voice, hut he didn't dare to question the man at that time. He bowed and left the room.

Yakim Douan stood very still for a long while, considering the decision. Three twenty-squares!

But he knew what the stakes were, and after the catastrophe at the Moun-tains of Fire, they were very high.

Douan needed Grysh to put down the reb-els and to destroy this newest legend in the making, this Dragon of To-gai.

He took some comfort in the fact that his latest reports put the Jhesta Tu still in their mountain abode, with no signs that they were planning to march in force and join the uprising on the steppes.